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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

I should probably begin by apologizing in advance for what will surely be several posts in a row from the same book. I just read another Donna Hay book, Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry, and as usual I was intrigued by every dish presented. The photos grabbed my attention immediately, and the recipes are so straightforward there’s no reason not to jump right in and get cooking. In this book, Hay suggests you consider your pantry staples as the “bones” of your cooking, and the recipes focus on those basic ingredients used in all sorts of ways. Each chapter is devoted to a type of staple such as pasta, rice, grains, and pastes. At the end of each chapter, there is a section called short order which presents very quick and simple dishes or just a sauce or crust or some element with multiple uses. After reading the book, I had a seriously difficult time deciding what to try first. There are about a hundred post-it notes sticking out of it, and just about everything I plan to make in the next week will be from this book.

One of the quick and simple short order items from the rice chapter is baked vanilla rice peaches. It occurred to me that I never make rice pudding, and Texas peaches are in season right now, so it was the right time to put the two together. This may be the easiest form of rice pudding ever prepared. For four large peaches or six small ones, you will need one half cup of cooked rice. I used jasmine rice. To the rice, add one quarter cup of cream, a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits, and spoon some rice mixture into each piece. Place in a baking pan, sprinkle tops with demerara sugar, cover with foil, and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. That’s the entire recipe. When you remove the pan from the oven and lift the foil, you will be taken aback by the vanilla-peach loveliness emanating from within. Fresh peaches have a pretty fantastic aroma by themselves, but combined with vanilla, it's taken to another level.

The demerara sugar melted into a glossy syrup in the pan, and I spooned it back over the peaches. Also, I had some local, organic blueberries which I thought might look nice on the plate, and I dusted the tops of the peaches with a tiny bit of cinnamon. This was simplicity and comfort-food and fruit and dessert and possibly breakfast all in one very simple dish. When something is this easy and this good, it’s always a little surprising. But, the best part is realizing that I can whip this up anytime with very little effort.

This looks fantastic! I actually have the same book. I love all books from Donna Hay, the recipes are gorgeous and the photos, well... they are my big example! your photos actually made me drool and wanting some of those peaches right away!

well, now, this is a unique version of good ol' rice pudding! i'm not usually a fan of the stuff, but the luscious peaches make it really appealing. i'm looking forward to the other dishes from this book!

I just pulled my copy of the book off the shelf because I couldn't remember ever seeing this recipe. But here it is on pg. 48! These are so right up my alley - thanks for drawing my attention to the recipe.